CDC: Preschool obesity rate down in 19 states, Ohio holds steady

New data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that obesity rates among low-income preschoolers dropped slightly between 2008 and 2011 in 19 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands, reversing a decades-long trend. In Ohio, however, that rate held steady (Source: “Obesity rates finally dropping in low-income preschoolers, but not in Ohio,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, Aug. 6, 2013).

According to the CDC report, Ohio was one of 19 states, along with the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, that had steady rates of child obesity between 2008 and 2011. Tennessee, Pennsylvania and Colorado were the only states to seek rates increase.

Speaking about the 19 states that saw a decrease, CDC Director Tom Frieden said in a written statement, “While the changes are small, for the first time in a generation they are going in the right direction.”

The new report was based on height and weight measurements for nearly 12 million 2- to 4-year-old children who participate in federally funded nutrition programs. They were from 40 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.